Name: Džani Hadžić

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Interning period: June – August 2013

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

I first remember the staff and the working atmosphere. I experienced a professional working environment.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

I was taught with new political theories, especially in terms of minority rights. I also improved my research and methodology skill.

Where did you apply the obtained knowledge?

Primarily, it was applied in my MA thesis, but the methodology and research skills are something which will remain forever.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

I only have positive comments on this question. I never faced with “no” or “sorry, I cannot now”. All of the employees were willing to help me and always provided me with hints and tips on methodology, data and relevant sources.

What would you recommend to those who are interested to intern at CRPM?

Grab the chance, it will worth it.


Name: Jelena Petrovic

Country: Serbia

Interning period: June – July 2014

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

I witnessed very intensive and working environment. The staff is highly friendly and helpful. It is a matter of a real and professional think tank organization which is not the case here in Serbia.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

Yes. The contacts which I developed during my internship at CRPM are of huge importance for me and I maintain them even nowadays. All these people are relevant sources for my work even now.

What did you learn from CRPM?

I learned about the concept of good governance. I was acquainted with relevant knowledge in terms of methodology and research tools.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

I give my highest grades about the professionalism and the readiness of the staff to transfer their knowledge to the interns. It was once in a life time experience.

What would you recommend to those who are interested to intern at CRPM?

Be ready to expand your knowledge and your contact list. It is a NGO which provides great opportunities.


Name: Klára Votavová

Country: Czech Republic

Interning period: March – April 2015

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

I remember a very positive and friendly atmosphere in the office which is a base for productive work.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

I was involved in some research activities which helped me to upgrade my capabilities to research. I also got in depth knowledge about the political situation in Macedonia as well as the political developments in the Balkans.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

The staff is highly educated with international degrees and professional in each sense. All of the employees are scholars per se and very helpful persons of whom each intern can learn a lot.

What would you recommend to those who are interested to intern at CRPM?

I will highly recommend CRPM as a place where interns can absorb new knowledge. They can count on friendly staff who can give them advice and comments any time.


Name: Danil Zelenkov

Country: Macedonia

Interning period: June – August 2013

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

The first things I remember were the activities in which I was involved. It was a research which aimed to investigate the educational choices among the youth. I also participated in a project related to municipal transparency.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

After the internship, I was well prepared for the rest of my BA studies at George Washington University, especially for the course which were related to public policy.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

They have strong willingness to guide the interns during the internship duration. The staff is well educated and prepared.

Where did you apply the obtained knowledge?

I applied and I am still applying in my ongoing BA studies in economy. The new writing skills helped me to upgrade my essay writing style.

What is your advice to those who are interested in interning in CRPM?

For sure I will recommend CRPM as a place where my fellows and young researchers can gain firsthand experience in terms of research and policy making. It is also a place where you can receive feedback for your own ideas – something which is hard to find at other organizations.


Name: Xavier Carrera

Country: Mexico

Interning period: August- October 2015

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

First and foremost, I will remember the very friendly and constructive atmosphere at the workplace. The CRPM staff made a great effort to include me as much as possible into their activities, including the School of Public Policy Mother Theresa.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

I got a better comprehension of the institutional transformation of the country in its most recent history.

Where did you apply the obtained knowledge?

Nowadays, I use the knowledge I acquired in CRPM in my new workplace in BiH and also in my studies at the ERMA in Democracy and Human Rights in SEE.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

CRPM staff was quite open and willing to assist me in the process of conducting my research. They never hesitated to provide me with reliable information that greatly enriched my work when needed.

What is your advice to those who are interested in interning in CRPM?

I can definitely recommend CRPM to anybody who is willing to conduct research on Macedonian politics.


Name: Haris Kamberovic

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Interning period: June – August 2016

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall on your internship at CRPM?

Good working atmosphere, team work and professionalism are the first things on my mind.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

The work within CRPM organization provided me with opportunity for developing my professional skills (composing of field research, filling up questioners, assessing research materials and evaluation, working in SPSS).

Where did you apply the obtained knowledge?

I applied this knowledge while I was writing my MA thesis, especially in terms of the methodology development and the data analysis. I am more than convinced that I will use this experience and knowledge in my future carrier.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capacities and willingness for mentoring? 

I would describe CRPM as a great team of professionals, who are ready to share their experience and knowledge. I was involved completely in daily work of CRPM organization, feeling like a part of team.

What would you recommend to those who are interested to intern at CRPM?

If you want to learn how to make public policy, call CRPM.


Name: Adrian Waters

Country: Italy

Interning period: Sep – Nov 2018

What is the first thing on your mind when you recall your internship at CRPM?

I recall the friendly staff members and their willingness to have me involved in various tasks, such as proofreading documents written in English and researching for and drafting reports on policy-related issues. This made me feel like a valuable part of the team and it allowed me to acquire new skills and knowledge more swiftly.

Has the CRPM’s internship helped you in your professional or academic development?

My internship at the CRPM gave me the first insight into the work of think tanks and research centers and inspired me to join another think tank, i.e. the Institute for a Greater Europe for which I was its secretary and am now working as its Democratisation Bureau Officer. It also allowed me to bolster my research and proofreading skills which turned out to be an asset for my second level master’s and for a traineeship I later completed at the Democratic Governance Division within the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

Where did you apply the obtained knowledge?

I applied the obtained knowledge in my work at the Institute for a Greater Europe, but also in the thesis I wrote for my second level master’s which was on the impact of EU state-building policies on the democratisation process in Macedonia from the country’s independence to the present-day.

What is your opinion on CRPM in terms of professional capabilities and willingness for mentoring?

All the staff members are specialists in their respective fields and therefore they can offer high-level mentoring for any intern and are more than happy to help one gain professional competencies and expertise that can be beneficial in the future.

What would you recommend to those who are interested to intern at CRPM?

I would recommend that they should make the best of it and to get involved in any activities that will make the internship worthwhile.